Pics up at gobison.com

[Bison bison]

http://www.gobison.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPSID=12289&SPID=714&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=2400&PALBID=380357

[ndsubison1]

that is sick

[tony]

Heh, I kept trying to figure out where the indoor track went to.

Great idea to put that on the other side of Dacotah Field - closer to the baseball, track, and softball fields.

[bisonmike2]

Wish it were more than 5700 seats but at this point I'll take it.

I hope the green seats stay, wish we had those in the Fargodome.

Looks like the arena is a bowl configuration, hope that's true. I hate the pull down bleachers we have currently.

[North Side]

amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! is there a tentative time online on this getting built?

[Mr. Burgundy]

Starting the 3 phases when the snow melts. I have seen the plans and they are absolutely amazing. Recruiting with this new facility will be alot of fun for Saul and those guys. I personally LOVE the size of the arena. Make this 5700 of the hardest tickets in town. It will be loud and very good looking. I have heard some great things about the locations of the ticket office, the hall of fame area and having 2 practice courts will be great. Huge recruiting tool.

[TheDoctor]

http://www.gobison.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPSID=12289&SPID=714&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=2400&PALBID=380357

I noticed that the locker for #10 has a jersey painted in the back because I assume that locker will never be used. It will be a testament to the D1 roots. Close enough to a reirement of Woody's jersey. I'll take it! :D ;)

[HandoEX]

Anyone know who will actually be doing the work on the job site during the recontruction?

[roadwarrior]

Anyone know who will actually be doing the work on the job site during the recontruction?

Saul said he has a shovel in his trunk. I would help out too.

[Herd]

Is there any detail out there that outlines timing/phases/money. What is the financial breakdown for each phase? When will we break ground on this thing, and when will it all be complete? How will the various sports function during the construction?

If you are all familiar with Montana States 6 phase football stadium, you'd understand what I'm talking about. Hopefully the phases are in place to work around the sports seasons, not to raise new money for each.

[roadwarrior]

Hopefully construction starts early in the spring. They do not plan on interrupting basketball season. The phases are necessary because business as usual will be taking place all during the process. A lot of moving around of people I would think during the construction phases. The $32 million fund raising effort covers everything in the project along with the money already on hand.

[SDbison]

OK, I am now a bit happier about the arena plans as I heard through a good source that the floor will be dug down a few feet. That will at least get the scoreboard up a bit off the basketball floor. :)

[Tatanka]

OK, I am now a bit happier about the arena plans as I heard through a good source that the floor will be dug down a few feet. That will at least get the scoreboard up a bit off the basketball floor. :)

1000 times this.

if it's true... i've heard it both ways (they will lower the floor, and they won't be lowering the floor).

[TheBisonator]

1000 times this.

if it's true... i've heard it both ways (they will lower the floor, and they won't be lowering the floor).

They will be lowering the floor by 30 inches, and they will crank up the scoreboard a bit. This has been confirmed.

[Thunder_Struck]

So will the top rows have to look down to see the center court scoreboard?

[TheBisonator]

So will the top rows have to look down to see the center court scoreboard?

From what I see in the renderings, it looks like there may be a walkway all the way around the top rows of the arena. I don't think the highest seat in the new BSA will be as high as the highest one currently. I also think that a 75-foot hail-mary buzzer beating pass may now be possible (albeit barely) in the new BSA.

The rendering of the interior of the arena is now my new desktop wallpaper. It looks SWEET....

[ndsubison1]

OK, I am now a bit happier about the arena plans as I heard through a good source that the floor will be dug down a few feet. That will at least get the scoreboard up a bit off the basketball floor. :)

i heard they will be hanging seats from below the scoreboard because 5700 is not enough

[Bison"FANatic"]

i heard they will be hanging seats from below the scoreboard because 5700 is not enough

Na that is where the suites will be. All glass floor, just no short skirts though, we don't want our guys looking straight up the whole game. On the other hand maybe we put TAB and his Boa in a short skirt up there. Our guys will only make the mistake of looking up once but those bunnies will have a neck cramp from looking straight up the whole game while we run by them.:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[SDbison]

i heard they will be hanging seats from below the scoreboard because 5700 is not enough
Ha ha funny. Talk to me in 5 to 10 years ming, when 2000 fans are being turned away for several games each year all due to the limited size of the BSA remodel with absolutely NO ABILITY TO EXPAND.
The situation will just be like the Fargodome where once we get established as a top MVFC team that regularly makes the playoffs there is no ability to expand the Fargodome. Back in 2006, 2007 and part of 2008 the dome sold out for most football games. This will soon resume and get worse.

[Tatanka]

Ha ha funny. Talk to me in 5 to 10 years ming, when 2000 fans are being turned away for several games each year all due to the limited size of the BSA remodel with absolutely NO ABILITY TO EXPAND.
The situation will just be like the Fargodome where once we get established as a top MVFC team that regularly makes the playoffs there is no ability to expand the Fargodome. Back in 2006, 2007 and part of 2008 the dome sold out for most football games. This will soon resume and get worse.

Agreed SD but that's not all bad--it will weed out some of teh casual "look at me because I'm here" fans. And it will make NDSU events a hot ticket. All of which is good, and will help when it comes time to raise money for expansion. I too would like a larger configuration but maybe now's not the time--if I was NDSU I'd take what I can get seeing as there's not a bigger better opportunity presenting itself.

[OrygunBison]

Ha ha funny. Talk to me in 5 to 10 years ming, when 2000 fans are being turned away for several games each year all due to the limited size of the BSA remodel with absolutely NO ABILITY TO EXPAND.
The situation will just be like the Fargodome where once we get established as a top MVFC team that regularly makes the playoffs there is no ability to expand the Fargodome. Back in 2006, 2007 and part of 2008 the dome sold out for most football games. This will soon resume and get worse.

Honestly, I really don't think that it'll be that soon. Heck, even if it is 10 years, the amount of money spent on the arena itself (not based on any connection to the project that I know, just based on what I know of construction costs) won't be enough to hold us back from a new arena minus all of the other amenities in the future. Since so much effort on this project is in keeping the existing steel structure, the big costs are in all of the adjacent amenities in the building. (Just an educated guess, though.)

I'd think that this'll sell out a few times a year in the 5-year out range. I bet it'll take much longer to be an issue with turning too many people away. Understanding that it is not the best situation, there is always the Dome for really big games when we have them once or twice a year. That is a luxury that most schools just don't have.

All in all, I think that this is a really good investment. Hopefully, I can get back every once in awhile for some games.

[Bison bison]

Ha ha funny. Talk to me in 5 to 10 years ming, when 2000 fans are being turned away for several games each year all due to the limited size of the BSA remodel with absolutely NO ABILITY TO EXPAND.


That should never happen. Just raise the price of the tickets for those games...

(sorry went into economist mode there for a second)

[56BISON73]

At very successful programs arent there usually people who get turned away for games each year? I dont see what the problem is then. Its called creating a market. If the tickets are in high demand then those that dont go to the games will then sell them IF there is demand-market for them. I think its called the law of supply and demand. I could be wrong. :D

[SDbison]

Agreed SD but that's not all bad--it will weed out some of teh casual "look at me because I'm here" fans. And it will make NDSU events a hot ticket. All of which is good, and will help when it comes time to raise money for expansion. I too would like a larger configuration but maybe now's not the time--if I was NDSU I'd take what I can get seeing as there's not a bigger better opportunity presenting itself.
Sorry, there is a flaw in your theory. NDSU has chosen to give everyone with the higher points total the best seats. That means most the seats near the field or court are occupied by richer, older folks who could give a rip about cheering, let alone standing.

[OrygunBison]

Sorry, there is a flaw in your theory. NDSU has chosen to give everyone with the higher points total the best seats. That means most the seats near the field or court are occupied by richer, older folks who could give a rip about cheering, let alone standing.

How is that different from every other arena? Aside from some arenas having the student section near the court, all of the rest of the seats are more expensive the lower you go. Yep, those people as a demographic are older, more affluent and less rowdy.

[tony]

You mean we could build a 10,000 seat arena but we chose not to?

Oh, I forgot, the choices really are:

A. A remodeled arena, new track, new indoor practice field, new offices, and a new weight room, and all that.
B. A 10,000 seat arena that will not get built in ten years, if ever.

Am I supposed to believe that B is better? NDSU was recruiting in a DI vacuum before - don't think that the current BSA is going to help - and if it hurts enough, the program will suffer which will make ticket sales suffer.

So with option A, the worst case is that Bison basketball is so popular that we have to turn people away? I think the worst case for option B is that we have no new indoor track, no new indoor practice facility, no new weight room, no new offices, the BSA still looks terrible, our BB arena is crappy, our basketball progam suffers because of the state of the BSA, and we have more than 2,000 tickets that we can't even give away.

A > B

If your goal is a 10,000 seat arena, you know what the best way to get there is? Have 4300 people clamoring for basketball tickets who can't get them. It's not like the BSA remodel is going to be so expensive that we're going to be stuck with it forever even if we outgrow it.

[OrygunBison]

It's not like the BSA remodel is going to be so expensive that we're going to be stuck with it forever even if we outgrow it.

B.I.N.G.O.

[AKBison]

This arena size is perfect for NDSU. Lets say in a decade that NDSU has sold out every game for five years and decides to build a new 12,000 seat arena. The money we will have spent on the BSA will NOT be waisted. A 5700 seat BSA at that point would still be very viable for Womens basketball, volleyball and wrestling. None of those sports would flourish in a 12,000 seat empty arena. It is a win/win either way. We are not dumping a ton of money into something we will be trapped in for 50 years (See the FFD). If men's basketball grows to the point where it needs a new home then great we will build it. If not, then it is in the perfectly sized BSA.

Plus.....For us Hockey goons, this still leaves the door open for a new basketball/hockey arena in the future. :)

[Bisonguy]

If the ticket office is turning away 4000+ for every home game, couldn't the games just be moved to the Fargodome the following year??

[lakesbison]

SD is right about 1 thing.

if NDSU wants to be in the Miss Valley, the smallest arena is 10K.

so if we want to be medicore forever, i guess we will be that. small time mid level bball and small time mid level football.

[SDbison]

Wow, you guys inflate everything that I or anyone who has agreed with me........Bisonguy, who said anything about turniing away 4000 fans??????? I said 2000 and that is in the future a few years.
Also find me a post of anyone who has said we need a 8,000, 10,000 or 12,000 seat arena lately???????
Just because 5700 is in fact small for a 15,000 student DI state university in an area where no pro or bigger schools are nearby to compete for fans. Yes, reality is that this is all that can be afforded, but that doesn't make it right. Seems some of you would argue that 4900 would be OK, or even 4000.
Hey, I am happy they are building something......I just expected a little bigger like 6500 or 7000. Kind of hard for me living 250 miles away to pay a premium to get season tickets for higher up seats to attend a few games a year. So if the ticket prices get raised too much I may not go at all.

[Bison bison]

SD is right about 1 thing.

if NDSU wants to be in the Miss Valley, the smallest arena is 10K.

so if we want to be medicore forever, i guess we will be that. small time mid level bball and small time mid level football.

the smallest arenas are at UNI and Drake. They each seat 7k.

i do agree that if those are our peers - which, FYI, they are not - then the SHAC is too small.

[Kermit]

SD is right about 1 thing.

if NDSU wants to be in the Miss Valley, the smallest arena is 10K.

so if we want to be medicore forever, i guess we will be that. small time mid level bball and small time mid level football.

None of the people I know in the NDSU athletic department want to be mediocre. Bison pride is all about striving for excellence.

Achievement of big goals comes only with much hard work, usually over a long period of time. The programs, fan bases, and budgets of those Missouri Valley Conference schools were not built over night. They have evolved over decades.

Before we worry about "moving up" we need to become the best in the Summit League. The Building the Competitive Edge campaign and the SHAC can put NDSU at the top of the SL in athletic facilities. This has NOT been easy. It is the next step and a necessary step. Unfortunately, it isn't a big enough step to satisfy the egos of all NDSU supporters. It will not be the last step in NDSU's athletic journey.

[KC Bison]

Is it certain that there is no expansion room in the new setup?

[TheBisonator]

Is it certain that there is no expansion room in the new setup?

That's what I would like to know as well.

[X-Factor]

You either build for today or build for tomorrow. The Fargodome and a 2nd deck are a perfect example. This arena definitely will do for the next decade, but after that who knows. They should build it so that it is expandable if at all possible.

[sambini]

None of the people I know in the NDSU athletic department want to be mediocre. Bison pride is all about striving for excellence.

Achievement of big goals comes only with much hard work, usually over a long period of time. The programs, fan bases, and budgets of those Missouri Valley Conference schools were not built over night. They have evolved over decades.

Before we worry about "moving up" we need to become the best in the Summit League. The Building the Competitive Edge campaign and the SHAC can put NDSU at the top of the SL in athletic facilities. This has NOT been easy. It is the next step and a necessary step. Unfortunately, it isn't a big enough step to satisfy the egos of all NDSU supporters. It will not be the last step in NDSU's athletic journey.

Well said++++++++++

[TbonZach]

My one question - where will the pep band go?

[56BISON73]

My one question - where will the pep band go?

Hey I saw Sig was playing drums with the pep band at the VB game.

[ThunderDan]

Not sure why so many people hate the idea of a smaller arena at this point.

1. Does NDSU basketball EVER sell out? Kansas St. game comes to mind, other than that, can't really think of any. Maybe SDSU?

2. We don't play big time opponents during the regular season....we are in the summit league. Doesn't exactly scream greatness and top 25 basketball. People will come to see big time teams....Oakland and Oral Roberts don't exactly cut it.

3. NDSU can't even sell out the Fargodome and supposedly this is a football school. Once again, SDSU game may sell out, other than that, its not happening. Plenty of empty seats there on saturdays.

4. Atmosphere...smaller arena means more noise and better atmosphere. I will take that ANY day over a 10,000 seat arena that is half empty. I don't care if NDSU goes undefeated every year in the conference for the next 5 years, we cannot fill up a 10,000 seat arena every game...there are just too many games in basketball compared to football. Plus, games are on weeknights, not just saturdays. I know some of you would like to think that could happen, and believe me, it would be great. But the reality is, Fargo is not going to sell out a 10,000 seat arena all season.

So, i think this size is perfect. Yes, the first year, it may be close to full every game because of the fact that it's new. the newness factor always plays for the first year or two. I mean, does anyone really think that the twins will be selling out target field every game in 3 years? not gonna happen.
I think this arena will be the perfect size for NDSU basketball for a long time to come.

[Bison55]

This ^^^^^^^

Even on homecoming weekend there were literally entire rows of empty blue seats, which doesn't make me real optimistic about selling out a big basketball arena consistently. Also pretty tough to get 10,000 people to a game on a Tuesday night .....in Jauary..... when it is -30 outside.... to see IPFW

[SDbison]

OK, small thinkers you are right about everything. You think small, you are small. Glad you are here to justify all the smallness, with equal parts of small justification. Small is where everyone is going. Hey, when the family is growing everyone says, "Hey lets find a smaller house". I have not seen one of you small lovers speak to any of the points that are made from people believing the new arena should be a slight bit bigger or expandable. So keep on with the small talk.....apparently size doesn't matter anyhow. :blush:

[ThunderDan]

OK, small thinkers you are right about everything. You think small, you are small. Glad you are here to justify all the smallness, with equal parts of small justification. Small is where everyone is going. Hey, when the family is growing everyone says, "Hey lets find a smaller house". I have not seen one of you small lovers speak to any of the points that are made from people believing the new arena should be a slight bit bigger or expandable. So keep on with the small talk.....apparently size doesn't matter anyhow. :blush:

I guess Duke University is a "small" thinking university as well..i mean, their basketball arena has less than 10,000 actual seats....what a bunch of small time thinkers. They will probably never go anywhere with a small basketball arena. I'm sure the atmosphere at those games sucks too. What a high school looking gym.

[Burnt_Secondary]

OK, small thinkers you are right about everything. You think small, you are small. Glad you are here to justify all the smallness, with equal parts of small justification. Small is where everyone is going. Hey, when the family is growing everyone says, "Hey lets find a smaller house". I have not seen one of you small lovers speak to any of the points that are made from people believing the new arena should be a slight bit bigger or expandable. So keep on with the small talk.....apparently size doesn't matter anyhow. :blush:

You know, I used to think 6,000 might not be enough but after the last few years of really following college basketball I realized most arenas aren't that big. We really over estimate the size of some of these arenas on TV and just assume that there are thousands and thousands of seats. It's just not so in many cases. Alot of times we imagine NBA arenas and that just isn't true.

Duke is a great example. Besides, why do we want an upper deck that is always empty (for example.) nothing hurts a basketball atmosphere like a half empty arena. Watch a SWAC game in an 8,500 seat beautiful complex with 1,000 fans and you will know exactly what I'm talking about. We will draw better than the SWAC but 4,000 fans in a 10,000 seat arena will feel the same way.

When/if the time comes for more seating it will happen, we are in the Summit people and moving up conferences (or improving the current one) doesn't happen over night. A half empty large arena would do more damage to this program than alot of you realize. I wish the BSA was packed everynight but we aren't their yet, I feel we are on our way but it takes time.

[SDbison]

You know, I used to think 6,000 might not be enough but after the last few years of really following college basketball I realized most arenas aren't that big. We really over estimate the size of some of these arenas on TV and just assume that there are thousands and thousands of seats. It's just not so in many cases. Alot of times we imagine NBA arenas and that just isn't true.

Duke is a great example. Besides, why do we want an upper deck that is always empty (for example.) nothing hurts a basketball atmosphere like a half empty arena. Watch a SWAC game in an 8,500 seat beautiful complex with 1,000 fans and you will know exactly what I'm talking about. We will draw better than the SWAC but 4,000 fans in a 10,000 seat arena will feel the same way.

When/if the time comes for more seating it will happen, we are in the Summit people and moving up conferences (or improving the current one) doesn't happen over night. A half empty large arena would do more damage to this program than alot of you realize. I wish the BSA was packed everynight but we aren't their yet, I feel we are on our way but it takes time.
A packed BSA will never happen because the facility is SHAT. Yes, the new facility will help an extreme amount with increasing attendance. I just hope that as a teammaker who lives 250 miles away I will be able to get tickets for the games I want without having to pay a premium. So, where did all this second deck and 8,000+ capacity come from? Have not heard anything like that on this board since almost a year ago. 6500 seats to start with the ability to add 5 more rows in an mezannine around the top perimeter would have been a great feature so that this home would be a great home for 40 plus years. Of course, what the hell difference does it make what I think. Even if there was time for input who would care what I thought. This was all an exercise in futility. I just figure my posts hopefully improve my writing skills and words per minute. Reasoning with many fans on this messageboard is a lost cause. :D